Jhapa’s Haldibari Rural Municipality has launched a campaign to replace old wooden bridges with durable concrete structures, funding the initiative entirely from its internal budget. Two years ago, the municipality laid the foundation for three concrete bridges—one over the Bhuteni Khola and two over the Bhusudi Khola—with a total project cost of Rs 49.68m.

On Wednesday, the newly constructed concrete bridge over Bhuteni Khola, connecting Wards 1 and 5, was officially inaugurated by Rajendra Prasad Lingden, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, and the current Member of Parliament from Jhapa Constituency-3.

Speaking at the inauguration, Haldibari Rural Municipality Chairperson Rabindra Prasad Lingden shared that in 2017, a team from the Department of Roads’ Bridge Division had visited the area and conducted a soil test for the bridge. They later prepared a DPR (Detailed Project Report) and estimated the cost of a single bridge at approximately Rs 270m. “That estimate shocked us,” said Lingden. “We were unsure whether we could construct the bridge with our limited resources. But we decided to move forward, and we successfully completed the bridge with just Rs 23m.” He added that the bridge division’s estimate might have included a slightly longer and higher bridge, “but there’s no way it required such a large budget.”

Highlighting that all three bridges were constructed for under Rs 50m, Lingden stated, “The inauguration of the remaining two bridges will follow soon. Haldibari is now free from its dependency on wooden bridges.” He emphasized that this project is a strong example of how disciplined and honest leadership can accomplish major infrastructure works at minimal cost.